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When Will 10% Penalty on U.S. Dollar Conversion in #Cuba Really Happen?

You may have seen part of the discussions between President Obama and Raul Castro, both trying to stick to their guns while being conciliator,y to a point.

I always take Canadian money when I go to Cuba, but was trying to find out whether the elimination of the 10% penalty against converting U.S. Dollars still existed or not.

Today, in Cuba's national publication, "Cuba Debate" was a long, long, speech by Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, talking about this issue. He announced that, yes, the penalty will be eliminated. But, he explains that the penalty, "has served to compensate the Cuban financial institutions for the risks and costs the use of the dollar has generated and generates until now. I must say that only after it is established with correspondent international banks the possibility of our banks using the US dollar in our operations, and that such operations are carried out with complete normality, will take effect the decision of the elimination of the tax."

Really, he relives the entire history of the embargo and everything else that's been an issue over the years.

So, if you are intending to travel to Cuba any time soon, you may want to take something other than U.S. dollars.